EZchip provides production-ready code for network processors

SEPTEMBER 9, 2009 -- EZchip Semiconductor Ltd., a fabless semiconductor company providing Ethernet network processors, is offering its customers production-ready EPON/GPON data-plane code for the NPA, its new family of network processors targeting Ethernet access applications. The EPON/GPON package is the first in a series of Carrier Ethernet applications that EZchip will make available to customers deploying its high-speed and access network processors (NPUs). The offering is expected to help customers expedite their system products' time-to-market and simplify development efforts.

EZchip's NPA network processor, now sampling, has secured designs for EPON and GPON optical line terminal (OLT) central office systems with major network equipment vendors. The NPA coupled with the EPON/GPON software package provides customers with a complete data-plane platform for implementing their OLT systems. It utilizes the programmable NPA for enabling flexible platforms that can be field-upgraded with new features through in-service software updates as new services are being required.

The technology features packet classification and processing; fine-grained access control; hierarchical traffic management with per-subscriber, flow, or class service-level agreement (SLA) enforcement; enhanced network management and monitoring (OAM); and timing synchronization (Sync Ethernet and IEEE 1588v2). The provided code is standards compliant and conforms to all relevant specifications. EZchip is also offering its customers optional professional services to add features and tailor the code to their specific architectures for enhancing their product differentiation.

Using EZchip's NPA family of access NPUs, EPON/GPON system vendors can scale their offerings in bandwidth and port count for building pizza boxes or line cards with one to four EPON/GPON ports and Gigabit or 10-Gigabit uplinks. Using EZchip’s NP-3 or NP-4 high-speed network processors, the technology can scale further to 16-32 EPON/GPON ports per box or line card. All EZchip's NPUs are software compatible, simplifying code migration when scaling the system capacity or building different classes of products. The company provides production-quality software along with source code and detailed documentation, allowing system vendors to easily and quickly introduce new and differentiating features as well as support changing standards over time. EZchip also offers optional professional services for implementing these software changes.

The EPON/GPON software package for OLT will be available in October. EZchip will make available production-quality code for additional applications in the Carrier Ethernet space over time.


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